During the expedition, two Karankawa Indians were spotted near the bay going about their daily lives and were frightened at the sight of Alarcón and his men.

[4] In fact, the bay was notorious for its swarms of mosquitos that would fly from the Colorado River delta, and documented by a late 19th-century rancher:[1] A fairly strong easterly wind had been blowing for three days; on the evening of the third day, the mosquitos arrived, flying high, about fifty feet, and looking like a cloud of mist over Carancahua Bay.

At the ranch, they set everything on fire that had blood in it, and all work was suspended by unanimous consent...little or nothing was done for nearly five days; by this time the main body had passed, though plenty remained to make everything uncomfortable for about two weeks.

The name derives from an original resident of the point (Clarence Schicke) who came from Illinois as a game hunter and fisherman for local restaurants.

After Hurricane Carla destroyed the ranch home and operations, C. Schicke turned to commercial fishing and building small cabins in the area.

The shoreline continues north and passes several oil wells to Boca Chica POA Community, where a few piers are scattered along the shore.

Just north of the Boca Chica POA Community, a small inlet is formed, at the base of which, the Fivemile Draw is found.

To the north of Fivemile Draw is Carancahua Community, where several docks line the shore and continue until the bay winds to the west to a large wetland.

Past the wetland, the width of the bay shrinks and continues southward along the shore of the Cape Carancahua POA Community, surrounded by water on three sides.

West Carancahua Creek runs 28 miles (45 km) south from its source near White Hall Community, near Ganado, Texas to meet with East Carancahua Creek,[7] which runs southwest for 32 miles (51 km) from its source in southern Wharton County.

[11] Birds common to the bay include the wood ibis, roseate spoonbill, snowy egret, great-tailed grackle, Louisiana heron, willet, black-necked stilt, crested caracara and the black vulture.

The Texas Department of State Health Services described the areas conditionally approved as being from the mouth of the bay to a "beige house" on the eastern shore and cutoff across to a "grey barn" on the western shore, save for a small sliver of water that includes most of the shoreline of Port Alto, which is restricted.

Brigham Exploration is working with Royale Energy to develop ten reserves in the area, spotted during a seismic survey.